A conventional wagon-type vehicle having a plurality of rows of seats positioned in the front and rear direction of the vehicle is provided with a slide door capable of securing a wide door opening, and also is often provided with an ingress-egress step in the door opening portion in consideration of ease of ingress to and egress from a relatively high floor. Since such a step is provided at a low position with respect to the floor surface, the passenger cannot put his/her foot on the step, or the step cannot be utilized as a part of the floor.
To solve this problem, JP 57-88674 U1 discloses a technique in which there is provided a retractable cover plate for covering a portion above the step according to the opening/closing of the slide door. In this technique, when the door is open, the cover plate is retracted to use the step as an ingress-egress step, and when the door is closed, the cover plate is spread out over the step to form a flat floor surface. However, such a retractable cover plate requires a complicated retraction mechanism, a seal structure for protecting the mechanism portion from dust and muddy water, and structural strength capable of withstanding the ingress and egress of passenger are required, so that a greatly increased cost is expected. Also, since the retraction of the cover plate takes up space, in the case where a motor-driven slide door is adopted, it is difficult to secure a space for disposing a drive unit etc.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14, since a step 141 is provided so as to extend to the rear end of a door opening 140, when the passenger gets on and off the seat arranged at the rear of the door opening 140 (the third row seat in a three-row seating arrangement), the passenger must go up to a floor 142 by treading on the step 141 at a location that is the narrowest and has difficulty in getting in. Moreover, since a rear portion of the step 141 is hidden by the rear edge portion of the door opening 140 and is difficult to see, the passenger may have to assume an unstable posture at the time of ingress. Further, in the lowest portion of the door opening 140, a rail for a door hinge 143 (lower arm) for supporting the slide door is provided, and the door hinge 143 is provided so as to project to the front side of the slide door, which presents a problem in that the door hinge 143 is liable to be trodden on at the time of ingress and egress.
Also, since the length of vehicles is standardized, in a small-size vehicle, it is difficult to sufficiently secure a longitudinal distance for a plurality of rows of seats when indoor longitudinal length is limited. In particular, in a wagon-type vehicle in which three rows of seats 1, 2 and 3 are arranged in the vehicle longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. 1, since the engine is arranged under the floor under the first row seat 1, the passenger seated on the second row seat 2 cannot put his/her foot under the first row seat 1. Therefore, some degree of distance must be provided between the first row seat 1 and the second row seat 2 to secure a place for the passenger on the second row seat 2 to put his/her foot on the floor surface. Accordingly, the distance between the second row seat 2 and the third row seat 3 becomes narrow, so that a layout is essential in which the passenger seated on the third row seat 3 puts his/her foot under the second row seat 2.
However, on the lower rear side of the conventional second row seat 2, a rear leg 24, a lock mechanism (not shown) engaging with a striker provided on a floor 4, and the like are arranged, so that it is difficult to sufficiently secure a space for the passenger on the third row seat 3 to put his/her foot. Further, in the case where the third row seat 3 is a seat for three persons, the feet of three persons are put under the second row seat 2, so that it is further difficult to secure space.